Nathanial “Nat” Turner was a black American slave. Turner led an effective, sustained slave rebellion in U.S. history. Turner was not just a slave but also an educated minister who strongly believed that he was chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. He was born in Virginia on a plantation owned by Benjamin Turner. Benjamin also let him learn basic elements such as reading, writing, and religion. Turner was sold three times in his childhood. He was then hired out to John Travis (1820s) where he became a fiery preacher for African-American slaves. The African-American slaves on Benjamin Turner’s plantation and in his Southampton County neighbourhood saw Nat as a leader claiming that he was chosen by God to lead them from bondage. On August 21, 1831, he initiated his slave …show more content…
Spreading terror throughout the white South, his action set off a new wave of oppressive legislation prohibiting the education, movement, and assembly of slaves and stiffened pro-slavery, anti-abolitionist convictions that persisted in that region until the American Civil War (1861–65). An insurrection was planned, aborted, and rescheduled for August 21,1831, when he and six other slaves killed the Travis family, managed to secure arms and horses, and enlisted about 75 other slaves in a disorganized insurrection that resulted in the murder of 51 white people. The incident put fear in the heart of Southerners, ended the organized emancipation movement in that region, resulted in even harsher laws against slaves, and deepened the schism between slaveholders and free-soilers (anti-slavery political party whose slogan was ‘free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men’) that would culminate in the Civil War. With seven followers, Turner set off across the countryside, hoping to rally hundreds of slaves to join his insurrection. Turner planned to capture the county armory at Jerusalem, Virginia, and then march 30 miles to Dismal Swamp, where his rebels would be able to elude their